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Official Press Release written by Scott Hardin, Communications Director, Arkansas Economic Development Commission
We had a fabulous time presenting five Arkansas companies the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Global Trade on Friday, October 6 in Little Rock! So encouraging to visit with such talented, hard working Arkansas business people.
The companies honored include Amfuel (Magnolia), Calico Trailer Manufacturing (Quitman), Cobalt Aero Services (Hot Springs), Modern Chemical (Jacksonville) and Progressive Trail Design (Bentonville).
“Arkansas businesses help power our global economy. From multinational aerospace contractors to small family farmers, Arkansans are connected to a web of commerce that stretches all across the world,” said Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “In my administration, we’re working to make our state an even better place to do business, but we need our business leaders’ help to get that done. That’s why it’s an honor to congratulate these export leaders and thank them for their contributions to our state.”
The five recipients are doing business in countries including Portugal, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Korea, Iceland, Egypt and Singapore. Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald and Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Clint O'Neal presented the trophies to each company.
Check out the video of the companies on our YouTube channel.
(Photo and video credits to Mitch Chandler, Connect Global Tech)
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Secretary McDonald, Faith Elliott, Adam Garfein and Director O'Neal | |
Innovation & Impact in Manufacturing Exporter Award - Amfuel (Magnolia)
American Fuel Cell & Coated Fabrics, or Amfuel, is a market leading manufacturer and fabricator of self-sealing, crash-resistant aviation fuel cells and liquid logistic tank solutions for both military and civil, rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. The company’s fuel bladders are designed to self-seal if shot so the warfighter can return safely to base. After struggling with a major hurdle, the company switched its sales approach and managed to nearly double export totals year over year. Amfuel’s products can be found in countries such as Italy, Taiwan, Spain, Canada, and South Korea. We honored Amfuel for unique products and innovative solutions to find and successfully enter international markets with these products.
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Secretary McDonald, Barbara Liles, and
Director O'Neal
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Resilience in Manufacturing Exporter Award - Calico Trailer Manufacturing Company (Quitman)
Calico Trailer Manufacturing Company (Calico Trailers) is a manufacturer of trailers for horses, cattle, and any big or exotic animals. Celebrating their 40th year in manufacturing, Calico reflected on how far they have come from losing a factory in Australia and losing their father and founder to cancer. Despite these hardships, Calico has continued to grow, expanding their reach to Canada and Chile, and working on reestablishing their presence in Australia. We honored Calico Trailers for perseverance, dedication and overcoming setbacks to reach new markets and customers.
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Secretary McDonald, Tony McAnly,
Michael McWilliams and Director O'Neal
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Aerospace Exporter Award - Cobalt Aero Services (Hot Springs)
Cobalt Aero Services, an FCAH Aerospace brand, specializes in maintaining, repairing, and overhauling nacelle components, thrust (fan) reversers, and other aircraft structural components for the commercial and military sectors. As they began doing business internationally, they were met with a variety of challenges and were able to overcome them by expanding their business model and approach with customers. This awarded them business in countries such as Iceland, the United Kingdom, and Jordan, as well as many others. We honored Cobalt Aero Services for its successful penetration within international markets.
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Secretary McDonald, John Huntley, Mariah Spencer, Nancy Burger, Blake Spencer, Amy Oliger and Director O'Neal | |
Woman-Owned Exporter Award - Modern Chemical Inc. (Jacksonville)
Modern Chemical Inc. is a manufacturer of quality and safe cleaners and degreasers, Blue Gold Industrial Cleaner and Blue Gold Spray Wash. Modern Chemical has been extremely successful with their products both nationally and internationally, cornering the market for cleaners with brands like Tesla, Rolls Royce, and NASA, but also by reaching across the globe to countries such as Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and many more. We honored Modern Chemical for extraordinary achievements and significant impact as a woman-owned business in Arkansas.
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Rising Star in Global Servicing Award - Progressive Trail Design (Bentonville)
Progressive Trail Design is a full-service planning, design, and build firm, focusing on trails such as mountain biking trails, multi-use trails, pump tracks, skills courses, and more. Founded in 2007, Progressive Trail Design (PTD) played an integral part in the trail boom that Arkansas has experienced over the last 15 years. You can find their trails in northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and all the way to countries like Portugal, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. W honored Progressive Trail Design for its successful emergence into international markets over the years.
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Director O'Neal, Brett Budolfson, and Secretary McDonald | |
“I encourage any company considering expanding into new markets to look to these five award winners,” said Jonathan Bricker, Chairman of the Arkansas DEC. “Through these stories, I hope other companies across Arkansas see the real opportunities for those willing to explore a new way of doing business. The Arkansas DEC is here to assist. We understand there will be many questions, and we are here to provide support throughout the process.” | |
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Treasurer Larry Walther, Member Brittany Scott of Smart Repro, Associate Hope Benedict of Bio Tech Pharmacal and Administrative Coordinator Heidi Whitman attended this important meeting in downtown Little Rock on October 11, to network with like-minded people and explore what diplomacy, democracy and development are worth to global stability, as well as to the economic security of the South. The messages from Senator John Boozman and Sarah Thorn of Walmart, as well as the other speakers deeply resonated with our own mission. We will provide a report soon.
Read more about the Summit and USGLC here
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Access Europe and Eurasia: Explore Business Opportunities in Türkiye and Beyond!
Istanbul, Türkiye | May 13-15, 2024
Join us in Istanbul for the largest U.S. government-led trade mission and business development forum. Organized by the U.S. Commercial Service, Trade Winds will feature meetings with U.S. commercial diplomats from over 25 countries in Europe and Eurasia, exciting conference programming, and plenty of networking. The registration fee for the forum is $750 per attendee.
Qualified U.S. businesses may customize their experience with optional business-to-business matchmaking meetings with pre-screened buyers, agents, distributors, or joint-venture partners in Türkiye (May 15) as well as Italy and/or Romania, (May 9-10) and Denmark, Poland, and/or Kazakhstan (May 16-17). The registration fee for this option, which includes the business development forum and one mission stop, is $2,200 for the first company representative ($4,200 for companies with over 500 employees) and $500 for each additional company representative. The registration fee for each additional mission stop is $1,200.
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Please feel free to contact us. If we don't know the answer, we'll find someone who does!
Heidi Whitman, Administrative Coordinator
Arkansas exports $5.6 billion in goods around the world and supports 39,000 jobs in the state and nation! Our top three exports are transportation equipment, processed foods and chemicals, primarily to the nations of Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
The mission of the Arkansas District Export Council is to promote and support international trade activities and awareness throughout the State of Arkansas.
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